Tallinn is a fascinating mix of the historic and get up and go modernism. And this is nowhere better seen than in the Tallinn August Festival where cutting edge modern dance artists from Estonia, Germany and the UK are performing in a lovely old Guild building.

As if to sum up the history of the past 50 years of this Baltic country of 1.5 million inhabitants, Kanuti's previous use was as the communication centre for the KGB in Estonia. Soviet era paint and lino still "adorn" the floors and the frontage is receiving a complete facelift to bring it back to its previous glory.

With the voluntary support of the local dance community, seats from an old cinema and financial support from the town council and a variety of sponsors, Priit Raud and Kaja Kann, the centre organisers, are working wonders on a shoestring for dance in this beautiful city.

We are now in the middle of the August Festival, but the next 10 days sees the bulk of the programme including some intriguing collaborations between local artists and the well known internationally famous German artist Thomas Lehman.

Here is the link to the English language section of the Festival website and then click on the names of the companies for further details. We hope to have reports of some of the performances. And if you fancy seeing modern dance surrounded by mediaeval buildings and prices from 10 years ago (most tickets are about $5) then get on a plane as soon as possible.

How exciting! Here's a site that has lots of beautiful pictures of Tallinn, including the view of the Old City (ed. by Stuart) and the rest of Estonia. Scroll down a bit and click on "Tallinn Photo Album."

Stuart replies: You got the coding right djb, but you were referencing the page rather than the image on the page. To find the URL of an image use right click with the curser on the image. Click on "properties" and the URL will be one of the pieces of information that you can copy and paste.

As the image you chose was very large and slow loading I have taken the liberty of replacing it with a speedier one. Hope that's OK, but if not feel free to replace it with your original.

Thanks for finding the site which is the best I have seen of this lovely small country. That's my afternoon spoken for!

Hailed as a 'rising star' by Ballet International Mart Kangro is a dancer with a reputation. But he'd hate that. He corrects me sharply - 'I'm a freelance choreographer / performer.' Mart is not interested in dance in the conventional sense. 'I would rather perform for 100 people than do something that entertains, I don't want to compromise,' he says without the slightest hint of irony.

Despite scorning the idea of entertainment what Mart does is popular in its own terms. 'Dance in Tallinn has become quite busy compared to the other eastern European cities - there are a lot of young people who are active in it. People are interested in modern contemporary culture and new ideas generally since 1990 when everything opened up. So this is one reason why it's so popular here.'

Not just here but all over Europe. Mart is in demand - 'I've performed in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Germany, Netherlands and in England for the first time at The Place'

The status of new dance or contemporary dance as Mart prefers to have it has just received recognition from the city government in Tallinn. They now have their very own temple - the Kanuti Gildi Saal where they rehearse, experiment and perform. Like most buildings in the Old Town it comes with a few hundred years historical baggage. It started existence as a rich merchant's home in medieval times. But it was last used as a phone bugging centre by the KGB - an instrument in the state machinery of oppression against Estonia. It is perhaps fitting that contemporary dance should find a home here.

'There were some radical choreographers during the Soviet occupation in the National Opera, for instance Mai Murdmaa, who was known all over as the most avant garde in the Soviet Union; she fought with the guardians of classical ballet who wanted to protect its 'beauty' - she is still very famous. There has always been an Estonian tradition of pushing the boundaries.'

Mart pushes his own boundaries - preferring to make performances by barely moving. As dance it is demanding of both spectator and performer and gets different reactions depending on where he is appearing. 'The solo performance I did in London is called 'Start' based on a true story - my autobiography. It is entertaining. People laughed a lot, in London especially they laughed very much. But for me it's a circus and quite sad, not funny. In an ironic way I dealt with the conventions of dance education and of the dance world and questioned those things.'

Mart had a classical training and still has a day job as a member of the ballet company of the Estonian National Opera. His contemporary work though is self taught which he sees as an advantage: 'There is no governing institution which is a good thing and quite liberating. Because there is no history in contemporary dance people of my age can take control.' At 27 Mart has seized the opportunity to define his chosen field of expression. And that's not entertainment.

This article is reprinted by permission from [url=http://www.24hours-in.com]24 HOURS IN THE CITY: TALLINN[/url] by Sankha Guha, published by Fuzzy Media Ltd (c) 2002 all rights reserved. Click on the title for further details.

You can also buy the magazine 24 HOURS IN THE CITY: TALLINN direct from amazon.co.uk

I'm back from Tallinn and need to sort out my notes for an article for Dance Europe.

I did have a brief moment on the first day when I wondered what if i don't like this stuff? Would the obvious attractions of being in one of the most historic cities in Europe and great food and beer at prices from 10 years ago be sufficient compenstion?

No need to worry! The modern dance is GREAT and one overseas choreographer told me that some of the most interesting work on the Continent is currently being made in Tallinn.

This is where the final performance was held outdoors - Katrin Essenson "According to the law". The Villa Ammende is a lovely Art Nouveaux building converted into a fine hotel with period furniture and helpful staff. I had a great lunch on the terrace the day after the show - a tough assignment this was not.

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